NEW Dragons boss Bernard Jackman wants to invest in a regular grass training field to complement the artificial pitch at their Ystrad Mynach base, writes Chris Kirwan.

The Dragons have been based at Caerphilly County Borough Centre for Sporting Excellence since the summer of 2014.

Before that they split their time between the pitch at Newport High School in Bettws, which was a World Cup training base for Uruguay and Ireland in 2015 and was used by Zebre when they spent a week in the city last September, and the 'cabbage patch' at Rodney Parade.

The 3G pitch at Ystrad Mynach and its proximity to the gym, analysis suites and dining facilities is vital for the Welsh Rugby Union-owned Dragons, especially in poor weather.

However, their fixture list will see them play on just two artificial surfaces in the coming campaign – Cardiff Blues in the Guinness PRO14 and Newcastle in the European Challenge Cup – and Jackman would like investment in a grass surface for preparation.

"If you spent all your time training on an artificial pitch and you don't play your home games on one then it doesn't make any sense because the only ones are Glasgow and Cardiff Blues," said Jackman.

"We will find a venue we can get access to pretty regularly. It's something we need to build into our infrastructure.

"It's something they didn't do enough of last year and I feel it's important, while it also freshen things up mentally. It's just finding a pitch that's good enough quality that we don't risk injury."

The Dragons started pre-season with heavy defeats in a double-header against Montpellier last Friday and Northampton the following afternoon, so will be pleased to only have one game on the schedule this weekend.

They head to Sandy Park to face English champions Exeter and will prepare for that encounter by training against Bath tomorrow (TUES), continuing a partnership forged in recent seasons.

Jackman will then take a large squad to Devon but is unlikely to give game time to lock Cory Hill, flanker Ollie Griffiths and centre Tyler Morgan after they toured with Wales in the summer.

"I am conscious of the balance of letting them get a really good pre-season but also being them involved enough so that they are available for Leinster. I'd imagine it'll be Glasgow [in Ebbw Vale a week on Friday] before we see them," said the head coach.